..g. IL-2, IL-4, IL-15 GMCSF, GCSF). It is likely that this process contributes to an accumulation of leukocytes in the early rheumatoid lesion and is involved in the development of the microenvironment required for persistent RA...

Early rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by a distinct and transient synovial fluid cytokine profile of T cell and stromal cell origin

..The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of testosterone patches vs placebo in female SLE patients with baseline mild-to-moderate disease activity in a randomized, double-blind, single-centre placebo-controlled trial...

..There have been very few meta-analyses or randomized clinical trials...

Pregnancy and rheumatic diseases

M GayedDepartment of Rheumatology, Division of Immunity and Infection East Wing, The Medical School University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UKRheumatology (Oxford) 46:1634-40. 2007

..Premature delivery may need to be planned to reduce the risks of stillbirth and can be associated with a variety of neonatal complications. Post-partum flare is common in all the rheumatic diseases...

Use of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in pregnancy in systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid antibody syndrome

C GordonDepartment of Rheumatology, University of Birmingham, UKLupus 7:429-33. 1998

..To determine if the BILAG-2004 index is sensitive to change for assessment of SLE disease activity...

Numerical scoring for the BILAG-2004 index

Chee Seng YeeRheumatology Research Group, School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UKRheumatology (Oxford) 49:1665-9. 2010

..This was an exploratory analysis to develop a new way of representing BILAG-2004 system scores longitudinally that would be clinically meaningful and easier to analyse in comparison with multiple categorical variables...

..To test the interrater reliability of the revised British Isles Lupus Assessment Group 2004 (BILAG-2004) index for the assessment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) activity...

The use of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index-2000 to define active disease and minimal clinically meaningful change based on data from a large cohort of systemic lupus erythematosus patients

Chee Seng YeeRheumatology Research Group, School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The Medical School East Wing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UKRheumatology (Oxford) 50:982-8. 2011

..To examine SLEDAI-2000 cut-off scores for definition of active SLE and to determine the sensitivity to change of SLEDAI-2000 for the assessment of SLE disease activity and minimal clinically meaningful changes in score...

The LupusQoL and associations with demographics and clinical measurements in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

..The prevalence of PAH in SLE in non-tertiary centres is uncertain. This study aims to estimate the point prevalence of PAH and identify risk factors for PAH in a large cohort of SLE patients...

Assessment of disease activity and quality of life in systemic lupus erythematosus - New aspects

Chee Seng YeeRheumatology Research Group, School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UKBest Pract Res Clin Rheumatol 23:457-67. 2009

..As a result, SLE-specific measures of HRQoL have been developed recently. This article looks at the recent updates and changes in the standardised assessment of disease activity and HRQoL in SLE...

The BILAG2004-Pregnancy index is reliable for assessment of disease activity in pregnant SLE patients

..In this review, these novel approaches to the treatment of SLE, including the potential of targeting cytokine pathways involved in autoimmunity, are discussed...

Challenges of ethnicity in SLE

Kanta KumarRheumatology Research Group, School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UKBest Pract Res Clin Rheumatol 23:549-61. 2009

..Further research is required to identify the best approaches to improve patients' understanding about lupus and its treatments and to show that improving adherence does indeed improve long-term outcomes...

Predictive value of antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide in patients with very early inflammatory arthritis

Karim RazaMRC Centre for Immune Regulation, Division of Immunity and Infection, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UKJ Rheumatol 32:231-8. 2005

..To study the prognostic value of antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) and rheumatoid factor (RF), alone and in combination, in patients with very early synovitis...

Beliefs about medicines in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus: a comparison between patients of South Asian and White British origin

K KumarRheumatology Research Group, Division of Immunity and Infection, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UKRheumatology (Oxford) 47:690-7. 2008

..To assess whether patients with RA and SLE who are of South Asian origin have different beliefs about medicines in general, and about DMARDs in particular, compared with patients of White British/Irish origin...

Ultrasound guidance allows accurate needle placement and aspiration from small joints in patients with early inflammatory arthritis

..To compare the accuracy of palpation-guided and high frequency ultrasound-guided needle placement in small joints and to develop a technique to obtain synovial fluid from these joints for diagnosis and research...

Paul P SmithRheumatology Research Group, School of Immunity and Infection, University of Birmingham, Edgebaston, Birmingham, UKAutoimmun Rev 10:43-5. 2010

..The prognosis depends on the organs involved. There is an increased risk of premature atherosclerosis as a complication of lupus and this and infection are the most common causes of death in lupus patients...

..To establish the prevalence of reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and fractures, and risk factors for fractures, in a cross sectional study of a large cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)...

Direct healthcare costs and predictors of costs in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome

R CallaghanRheumatology Department, Division of Immunity and Infection, The University of Birmingham, UKRheumatology (Oxford) 46:105-11. 2007

..To analyse the healthcare usage, direct healthcare costs and predictors of cost in primary Sjögren's syndrome (PSS) in the UK and to compare the findings with the data from healthy control groups and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients...

Immune responses to native beta(2)-glycoprotein I in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and the antiphospholipid syndrome

..To study the delay from the time of symptom onset to assessment by a Rheumatologist in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to determine the contributions of patient and physician dependent factors to this delay...

..There was no relationship between endothelial function and the development of damage in any organ system, including the cardiovascular system during patient follow-up. Patients with SLE have impaired endothelial Lupus (2007) 16, 84-88...

Defining response in systemic lupus erythematosus: a study by the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics group

..We compared the prevalence of conventional and lupus-specific risk factors in patients with SLE just before a cardiovascular event and in matched controls with SLE but no cardiovascular disease (CVD)...